


Roses

by JarOfRainbow



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: M/M, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 11:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19249957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JarOfRainbow/pseuds/JarOfRainbow
Summary: Flower Arranging isn't a vital skill in surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, but Peter picks it up as a distraction from the state of the world outside. Marlon comes to the greenhouse to check out the items they've scavenged, stumbling upon Peter's little side project.





	Roses

**Author's Note:**

> Playing through TWD Season 4 I was disappointed Marlon's death was unavoidable. I enjoyed his character, and he reminded me of the kind of guys I knew as a teen. Most of this is just dumb crush stuff, drawing from how I'd act around a guy I liked hahah Nothing really happens except blushing and pretending not to stare at Marlon
> 
> Peter's probably a little younger than Marlon and Louis. He spends most of his time in the greenhouse with Ruby, whom he's closest to. This takes place before Minnie & Sophie were taken, but after Ms. Martin dies. They've probably buried her near the greenhouse, as they do in the game.

"Yo Petey! Marlon's called a meeting! Courtyard, quick!" Peter's head turns suddenly to the greenhouse entrance where Willy's familiar shout came from. Just as quickly as the boy ducked his head into the door, he was gone, off to call the attention of all the other kids. Petey turns back to the flower arrangement on the table. He hesitates for a second, but decides it's best to make haste. He places a light sheet over the arrangement before rushing out the greenhouse, grabbing his satchel on the way out. The young kid makes his way to the courtyard where most of the other kids were already gathered. He approached, walking up to Violet standing off to the side.

"Hey Pete." Violet greets the boy with a nod, scanning over the rest of the group. The kids are mostly mingling among themselves as they await Marlon's announcement. 

"Hey!" Peter stops next to her, looking over the other kids himself. "Any idea what Marlon's up to?" He turns to Violet.

"No idea." She shrugs, her eyes dropping to see Peter's bandaged finger. "Have an accident there?"

"N-nah." Peter swiftly covers his finger with his other hand, rubbing it lightly. "I, uh…"

"Violet, Petey! We're starting!" Louis waves them over, standing at the base of main hall. Violet nods and joins the crowd of kids at the steps. He follows behind, finding Ruby toward the back of the group.

"Hey Pete, those flowers still givin' you a hard time?" The larger girl chuckles, spotting him prodding at the bandage on his finger.

"Yeah." The boy sheepishly admits. "Why do the thorny ones gotta be the prettiest?" He looks up past the crowd to see Marlon, Louis, and Aasim standing at the top of the steps, ready to make an announcement.

"Sure you're still talking about the flowers?" Ruby nudges the boy's arm. His face goes red and he bites his lips, huffing a little.

"Alright everyone." Marlon commands from the front. "Aasim just got back from the northern woods. He spotted some people camped out." He turns to Aasim and nods, prompting the other boy to step forward.

"Three people; two men and a woman." He explains, recounting what he saw. "They're armed, but it seems like they aren't planning on staying long." The boy rolls out the map he'd been holding on to, displaying it to the crowd. "I spotted them around here." His finger brushes around the upper left corner of the map, deep into the forest.

"We're forbidding that area of the forest for now." Marlon speaks up again. "Aasim, Louis, and Mitch will continue to scout them out. Hopefully they don't stay around too long." Mitch stands toward the front of the crowd.

"Are they gonna find us?" Tenn speaks up, a slight tremble in his voice.

"Don't worry Tenn." Louis twirls Chairles around, stepping forward. "We'd never let them get anywhere near the school."

"We know how to drive them away, leave it to us." Mitch places a hand on Tenn's shoulder. "They'll never get close." The older boy's conviction quells Tenn's fears, if just for now.

"We don't know how long they'll be out there, so we'll need to double up at the fishing hut." Marlon turns to Peter and Ruby. "Pete, Ruby, can you guys join Violet, Sophie, and Minnie after tending to the greenhouse?"

"Sure thing!" Ruby says with her usual upbeat cadence.

"Yeah." Peter finds himself not looking directly at Marlon's rugged face. "We can do that." He instead watches Louis swing the chair leg around.

"Good. You guys start heading out there tomorrow." Marlon nods, turning back to the other kids, continuing his announcements.

"Hey." Ruby gets Peter's attention with a light tap on the shoulder, noticing the boy staring blankly to the front. "Mitch gave you a weapon, right?"

"It's an old cricket bat, I think." Back at Peter's room, the cricket bat had been stood against his desk, unused since he received it. "It's pretty heavy."

"Good; don't forget to bring it when we head out." Ruby realizes Peter doesn't leave the school grounds all that often, preferring to tend to the greenhouse and courtyard. "Can never be too careful."

"Of course." His voice shakes. "I hope we don't run into anything."

"You worry too much, there ain't that many walkers along the path nowadays."

"R-right." The boy looks back up to the front, seeing Marlon addressing Willy and Mitch about weapons. He spots Aasim and Louis chatting about something behind Marlon while the rest of the kids listened to the announcements. Ruby spots him staring back at Marlon, rubbing the cut on his finger.

"You still got time to arrange those flowers, you know?" She gives him a playful tap on the hand. He pulls his hand back as his face blushes lightly. "Maybe we'll find some more at the fishing shack too."

"Violet said she found some bright blue flowers along the creek." Ruby catches a faint smile on his face. "I hope we can find some yellow ones too."

"That's the spirit." Ruby turns back to the front, catching the last of Marlon's announcements.

"Alright. That's everything for now." The kids settle down, everyone's attention returning to Marlon. "Once the travelers leave, we can go back to hunting up north, but until then, everyone stays alert." Peter only now notices Marlon's bow is sitting at his feet. "Thanks everyone." 

At his words the crowd begins to disperse. Omar, Sophie, and Brody walk off to the cooking pot, while Violet, Tenn, and Minnie head to the watch tower for lookout duty. Willy, Mitch, Aasim, and Louis funnel into the main hall, leaving Marlon standing in front of the door, picking up his bow. Peter turns to leave with Ruby when Marlon calls out at them from the front.

"Hey, Pete! Ruby!" He catches up to them before they start walking off. "Wait up!" The two turn back to face the young leader, Peter avoiding eye contact.

"Need somethin'?" Ruby speaks up for the two of them, knowing Peter's a little flustered.

"Willy told me you needed me to see something." Marlon stands tall in front of the two.

"Yeah. Pete and I found some old seeds in the back room after Mitch cleared it out." Ruby begins turning back toward the greenhouse, motioning for Marlon to follow them. "There were green peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini." She counts them out on her fingers.

"Omar already said he could use all of it in his cooking." Peter walks just ahead of Ruby, trying to focus on what he's talking about. "We told him they might not grow, but he was glad to know we might have more ingredients."

"That sounds great."

"We planted them, so we'll know if we have some new produce soon." The three stop in front of the greenhouse, Peter opening the door for them. "Anyway, we found some other stuff back there." Ruby leads them straight through the middle of the greenhouse, past the planters. They come to the back room where Mitch found the seeds. 

"There's also fertilizer." Peter pushes the door open. There's still a couple walker corpses shoved to the side of the room, waiting to be disposed of. "And, well-" At the center of the room, a pile of items were gathered including four sacks of fertilizer, a couple propane tanks, barbed wire, a couple shovels, a machete, and some garden shears, among other things. "All this stuff."

"Woah." Marlon steps to the pile of items, crouching down and picking up the machete. "Nice find." He inspects the machete in his hand; it's a little rusted, but otherwise in great condition.

"Mitch and Willy helped a lot." Ruby picks up one of the shovels, giving it a swing. "We thought we'd ask you what to do with all this stuff."

"Fertilizer's good for plants, right?"

"Yeah, but Mitch was asking if he could have some of it." Peter stood behind, watching Marlon inspect the pile of items.

"What does Mitch want with-" Marlon stops himself, spotting the tanks of propane. "Oh."

"Something about walker traps or…" Peter stutters off, unsure.

"Well, bombs seem a little overkill for walkers." Marlon chuckles. "It wouldn't hurt to have more defenses though." He recalls the unknown group Aasim spotted, deciding fortifying the school isn't a bad idea.

"I don't reckon we need all four bags, he's free to take some."

"What about the rest of this stuff?" Peter prods a shovel with his foot, making a satisfying metal clang against the floor.

"These could make for good weapons." Marlon reaches over, pointing at the garden shears and shovels. "Unless you guys need them here?" 

"G-go ahead." Peter suddenly looks away when Marlon turns back around to address him. "We might use one of the shovels though." Ruby snickers, to Marlon's confusion.

"Sure, no problem." He looks over at Ruby. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." She shakes her head, heading back toward the door. "We'll tell Mitch to gather the rest up then?"

"Yep." Marlon gets up, turning back to the door. "Great work you guys." He pats Peter's arm.

"Th-thanks." Peter feels his cheeks warm up and he swiftly turns to the door, away from Marlon. The three exit the back room, filing back into the greenhouse. Marlon takes a moment to look over the plants they were growing, noticing the new planters on the side tables.

"Having some peppers in our stew would be lovely." Ruby leans over the planters, a twinkle in her eyes. "Even Omar smiled a little when we told him."

"Imagine that." Marlon laughs, looking over the rest of the work stations. "What's all that?"

"Th-that's-" Peter rushes over to the flower arrangement he was working on, hidden under a light cloth. "It's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing."

"It's just-" Peter places a hand on the cloth. "It's stupid."

"It ain't stupid, Pete." Ruby scolds the boy. "I told you to stop saying that."

"Sorry, it's just-" He surrenders, picking up the sheet. "It's some flowers." A small collection of flowers sat in a vase: some white and blue wildflowers, a few dandelions, a tiger lily, and a rose. A few more flowers of similar types were on the work station in small bundles. "I was just messing around with them."

"Hey, they look good." Marlon doesn't know a lot about flowers, but he tries to be encouraging. "You guys growing them here?"

"Most of them are from outside." Peter stares at the arrangement, cheeks red. He rubs his wrist impatiently. "But we're trying to grow some new flowers in the back too."

"Cool." Marlon remains unsure about the value of flowers, but recalls Louis telling him to be more involved with the other kids' interests. He said it would help morale, and put the kids more at ease. "They're really, uh, pretty." His voice is tentative, but he tries to sound encouraging.

"Thanks." Peter steps back as Marlon approaches the flowers. He watches the other boy's hand hover over the flowers, his eyes scanning each one. "I think they're nice to have."

"Yeah." Marlon nods. His hand lingers over one of the roses as he continues. "Maybe we could keep some at the-" The boy pulls his hand back as he cuts his finger on the rose's thorns. "Shit-"

"Oh-" Peter reaches out to Marlon's finger, only to pull back before he touches his hand. "Sorry I-"

"Nah." Marlon squeezes the cut on his hand, gritting his teeth. "My bad." Ruby bumps Peter's shoulder while Marlon looks at his cut. She looks him in the eyes expectantly, mouthing something to him. She mimics a wrapping motion around her finger and tips her head toward Marlon. Before he could think, Peter speaks up.

"Lemme- Lemme help." The boy reaches out again, though his hand is unsteady. Marlon holds out his finger, showing him the cut. "It doesn't look too bad." Peter pinches the other boy's hand.

"Guess they got you too?" Marlon notices the bandage around Peter's own finger.

"Y-yeah." Peter tries to focus on treating the small cut. "I'll just clean this and wrap it up real quick." He turns to the workstation, sanitizing liquid and bandages still there from when he treated his own cut. "Ruby's been teaching me some first aid."

"Yeah?" Marlon winces as Peter washes the cut, the wound stinging. "Ah-"

"Sorry-" He cleans the liquid off, wrapping it with a clean bandage. "There, all good." 

"Thanks." Peter smiles, looking back up at Marlon's face. The other boy smiles back, their eyes meeting for a moment. Peter's grasp on Marlon's hand lingers a second too long before he drops his grip in a panic. His face is warm and pink, and he turns back to the table, putting the supplies away.

"No problem…" His voice shrinks as he arranges the medical supplies on the desk, moving some of the flowers aside. Marlon raises an eyebrow and gives Ruby a confused look. She shrugs and laughs, patting Peter on the back.

"I'm sure the other kids will enjoy having some nice flowers around the place." Marlon rubs his now bandaged wound a tad before scratching his nose. "Like in their rooms and stuff."

"They'd look great in your office." Ruby suggests. Peter shoots a worried look at Ruby.

"Yeah. That sounds nice." Marlon gives the arrangement another look over. "Can I have this one when you're done?"

"S-sure." Peter felt his heart skip a beat and his ears flare up. He tried his hardest not to turn beet red while promising to give Marlon an arrangement of flowers. "I'll get it to you as soon as it's done!"

"Hey, no rush!" The older boy laughs. "Make it look as cool as me!"

"Okay-" Peter's face drops to the floor, trying to hide itself from Marlon. Again, the older boy is unsure, but chalks it up to Peter's shy streak. "Yeah-"

"That's enough fun, boys." Ruby notes the setting sun through the windows in the roof. "Omar won't appreciate us bein' late for dinner."

"Right." Marlon stretches his arms, ready for a good meal. "Shall we?"

"Let's get movin', Pete." Ruby tugs at his arm to lead him out the greenhouse, Marlon following behind. Peter turns to look back at the flower arrangement as they passed the door, realizing it was still exposed.

"Wait-"

"I got it." Marlon goes back to the station and carefully places the cloth back over the arrangement. He turns back to Petey and gives him a thumbs up. "Don't want it getting messed up."

"Thank you." Peter clutches Ruby's arm as he tries not to smile like a dumbass. 

"Calm down now, lover boy." Ruby teases, just quietly enough so Marlon can't hear them. Peter pushes her playfully in retaliation.

"Thanks again guys, and great work." Marlon jogs past them, hoping to reach the courtyard before dinner starts. "See ya!" He gives them a wave as he rushes down the corridor, ducking around the corner.

"Bye!" Peter manages, almost biting his tongue. Once Marlon's out of sight, he and Ruby stop in their tracks. He sighs. "Well-"

"Well ain't you a big flirt?" Ruby bursts into a hearty laugh. "Better make sure your flowers are as pretty as your boy, then?

"Sh-shut up!" Peter pulls her along, hiding his bright red face. "Let's just go have dinner."

They file into the courtyard, most of the kids already gathered around the fire pit, Louis and Omar handing out bowls of stew. Marlon stood next to them, chatting about something with Louis. Ruby and Peter fall in line, right behind Aasim. When they get to the front, Omar hands Peter a warm bowl of stew as Marlon flashes a thumbs up at him and Ruby. Peter smiles awkwardly back and they head to the benches, having a seat with Violet and Tenn. The rest of the night goes by quietly, a nice hearty rabbit stew for some young zombie survivors. After dinner, Peter sneaks a just few minutes in the greenhouse before lookout duty, his heart set on making the perfect arrangement for Marlon.


End file.
